My Experience Completing #secondhandseptember

As September has come to a close, so has #secondhandseptember. This was something I took part in this month, this is basically where you don’t purchase any clothing from fast fashion clothing brands, both online and on the high street and swap for second hand clothing. When it comes to second hand clothing, I will purchase my clothing from charity shops which is the obvious point of call, however, I will also use apps like Depop and Ebay which I find really helpful when it comes to finding the perfect second hand piece.

Personally, I shop second hand most of the time now but I do purchase the odd pieces from high-street stores and online stores such as Boohoo and Prettylittlething. I really wanted to challenge myself and see how I get on with only purchasing second hand outfits. In this post I am going to talk about the reasons why I try to shop more sustainable, I am also going to touch on some of the things I have learnt from this experience and I am also going to talk about how I’m going to take this experience and continue it in the future.

This whole outfit is actually second hand! instagram: chlolaurenblogs

The reasons why I shop more sustainable:

If you have been following me for a while, you may have seen some of the posts I have uploaded discussing fast fashion and some of the things I do to be more sustainable. If you are new or haven’t had chance to read them, here are the links:

Shopping sustainable is something I’ve been really conscious about for the past couple of months and has been something I’ve been really working on. I am definitely so much better at shopping sustainable than I was almost a year ago but I am always looking at ways to improve! I will only ever purchase things from high street or online if it is something I really want and will go with loads of things, if it doesn’t, then I won’t really bother or I will try to find an alternative on Depop etc. I do still have a lot to learn about fast fashion and how I can do my bit to help but it is all about trying and I think that is what counts!

Why did I decide to do second hand September?

As I said previously, I tend to shop secondhand 60% of the time but this month I really wanted to push myself and see how second hand September would be. There were some times throughout the month where I struggled as I would see clothing when I went shopping but I refrained and I’m really proud of myself. It has definitely taught me a lot about myself and it has also taught me some self control!

Where have I been shopping this month?

I thought id add this little section in here because I know a few people that are quite conscious about buying second hand and may not know the best places to shop. For me, I do like to mix it up and I really enjoy heading down to my local charity shop and just taking my time and looking through all the pieces. I also love using Depop and Ebay to find specific garments because in most cases, if you have seen something in Primark for example, someone is bound to be selling the same thing or something very similar. This month I have also been to 2 vintage fairs which have been really fun and I’d highly recommend those if you are looking for sporty goods, like Adidas and Nike etc. I have definitely found some good pieces this month!

What have I learnt from the experience?

Honestly, I have learnt quite a lot from this experience which I’m definitely going to take on in the future. It has definitely taught me that I don’t need to shop in high street stores/online to get the clothing I want and need in my wardrobe. Whenever I have wanted something this month, I have popped over to my local charity shop to see if their are any alternatives and 9 times out of 10, they have something very similar which is a bonus as its not going to be exactly the same as what is selling online.

This month has also taught me that some items of clothing are really worth investing in. For example, I have been searching for the perfect coat for A/W and I haven’t found one in the charity shop so purchasing one in a store that I know I’m going to get a lot of wear out of is really something worth investing my money into. I think for me, I’m very conscious about single use fashion so knowing I’m going to wear something repeatedly for months to come, really makes me feel better about purchasing it. Also, lets face it, when purchasing a coat in England, we are going to be wearing it everyday up until March/April I reckon so you definitely get your moneys worth!

So, what am I going to take away from this experience? You definitely don’t need to shop online/on the high street to have the perfect fashion pieces because you may be able to find them in your local charity shop or on depop for a fraction of the price!

Did you do Secondhandseptember? What did you learn from the experience?

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Published by chloelauren

Hey, Welcome to Chlo Lauren, thank you for visiting my blog, so, let me introduce myself, I’m Chloe who is currently 20 years old who has the aspiration to present all of my interests to others.
Apart from writing the occasional blog post, I am currently studying my second year of Forensic Psychology at university and I take photos for Instagram.
Chlo Lauren will be a place where I express my love for; Beauty, Fashion, Lifestyle and Travel. If you would like to get in contact with me for collaborations and PR, please email me at chlolauren@yahoo.com.
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It is great that you found some neat second hand goods. The best thing about second-hand items is that you beat the initial depreciation and you are being more sustainable. Glad there are resources out there to help you out with finding the right items. It is good that the experience was great for you overall. Thanks for sharing!

I took part in #secondhandseptember and managed to find loads of bargains in my local charity shops. I’ve put them all on one of my recent posts to show just how many good quality bargains you can get. You can get some real gems for a fraction of the high street price.